This means answering 64 questions, though it doesn’t actually take that long to complete.

The good news is that I got a 94, which sounds close to perfect.

The bad news is that the maximum score is 160, so I obviously fell far short of libertarian purity.

But even a 94 makes me a very unusual person. According to Professor Caplan’s grading system, I’ve “entered the heady realm of hard-core libertarianism.

If you want to know why I got what appears to be a modest grade, it’s because the test basically measures whether you’re an anarcho-capitalist. And as I confessed back in 2011, when sharing this funny video poking fun at libertarianism, I’ve never been able to rationalize how to get rid of all government.

From an ideological perspective, I’d like to think that we could privatize courts, police, and national defense. But I just don’t see how the market would fill those roles.

So, yes, I’m a squish. But whenever anarcho-capitalists give me a hard time, I tell them that we should work together to get rid of 90 percent of government. Then we can squabble about what to do with the remaining 10 percent.

P.S. Since I shared the funny anti-libertarian video, I may as well share these other examples of humor targeting me and my fellow travelers.

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37 Responses

You article hit’s exactly how I feel on the matter. Libertarians should have stood on PRINCIPALS in the BEGINNING of Republicans turning RINO. NOT NOW when their country NEEDS THEM to get rid of ANY PERCENT of Government. I’ve picked the GROUP of voters that represent my views & will continue to support & help fight back government. We need to UNITE not divide ourselves, IT’S ABOUT COUNTRY NOW not individuals.

I got a 123, mostly because I differed from pure libertarian on military issues. This puts me in the same category as you guys though on the higher end. I basically agree with “anarcho-capitalism” but don’t consider myself one because I disagree with the libertarian definition of government having to be a monopoly. So did the founders, which is why they attempted to decentralize government through federalism and checks and balances and other means. Really, I think that market provision of government services is the logical conclusion of the founders’ ideas. So I don’t consider that abolishment of government, just a new foundation or institutional arrangement for accomplishing the purpose of government, the securing of our rights.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

So, a “pure libertarian” is a collectivist and tax ideologue. Thanks for that.

It’s by the way that you refuse “to get rid of all government [of the relevant kind]” because you can’t imagine a better way, given conditions in your area, to live at the expense of your neighbors at modest risk to yourself. You refuse to get rid of government because at bottom you’re just another coward who wants cops, courts, and the military do your dirty work under the color of law. Government is your favorite church, and you write about it incessantly because you fear that the costs and risks of it to YOU and your kith and kin will go up more than you’d like them to.

Reblogged this on Literature, Mathematics, Science, Etc. and commented:
Currently in US Politics, people are usually divided between more government or less government. Here is a post I found interesting concerning this. By the way, take the quiz to see what your position is. I took it and found myself as a centrist.

134 – I must be a nutjob. The only ones I wavered on were the “national defense” and immigration ones, but that’s because I think you can’t have free immigration in the presence of a nanny state. More a question of sequencing I would think.

How fun. A bit of belly-button gazing is good for the soul from time to time. The first “test” did have open ended questions so I wan’t surprised my score wasn’t where I expected, though was in range of my expectations the way it’s described at the end. The second one was, I think, surprisingly accurate. A glimpse in the mirror to see what I look like to others, if they are being honest.

Where are the sane people. Where are all the Insane Asylums when we need them. Just leave us alone and provide for your own self respect by living a principled life of virtue, value, and self respect. Don’t tread on me and I will not tread upon you. Above all there is only one part f government that is meaningful and needed. That is the Department of Defense. All else should be de-structured and disposed. Destroy the nanny state and thou shall prosper.

I agree with Buford Pusser except for the Department of Defense. The US should not maintain a standing military. It will eventually bankrupt the country and the becomes a tool for politicians to fight private battles. We need enough military strength to keep the lanes of commerce open. Originally that was thought to be a Navy…http://coldwarwarrior.com/

[…] concluded that I’m a “moderate” and “a centrist with few strong opinions.” I much prefer Professor Bryan Caplan’s libertarian purity quiz, where I scored a 94 out of 160, which may not sound impressive, but it was enough to put me in […]

[…] concluded that I’m a “moderate” and “a centrist with few strong opinions.” I much prefer Professor Bryan Caplan’s libertarian purity quiz, where I scored a 94 out of 160, which may not sound impressive, but it was enough to put me in […]

[…] a “moderate” and “a centrist with few strong opinions.” I much prefer Professor Bryan Caplan’s libertarian purity quiz, where I scored a 94 out of 160, which may not sound impressive, but it was enough to put me in […]

[…] of tests that allow people to determine their philosophical/political leanings, including the libertarian/anarchist purity quiz, the circle test to see where you are on the spectrum from socialism to voluntarism, and a […]

[…] P.S. If you want to figure out whether you’re libertarian, there are several tests, ranging from very simple exercises (here and here), to ones that will take 5-10 minutes, or ones that require answers to dozens of questions. […]